Westfield malls is HUGE, with 55 malls in the US and more outside of the US. They sell a lot of gift cards. Their gift cards happen to be American Express branded cards and can be used anywhere Amex cards can be used. As Amex/open-loop cards, they come with all the downsides that everyone complains about, such as high dormancy fees and difficulty using up the small remaining balance.

But since it is a Westfield branded card, you would think you wouldn’t have a problem using it up fully at a store in a Westfield mall. Not so according to this story, about a woman who is making a stink about Westfield retailers not accepting cards with less than ten bucks on them. Worse, the retailers tell her the cards had nothing on them, when they in fact did have money left on them.

Westfiled turned to the fine print and said all the terms and conditions were in there, such as the fact that Westfield retailers could choose to accept or not accept the Westfield gift card. Here is the funny part, when she asked them where she could use the card, they named three retailers out of the perhaps hundred in the mall. Three.

It is also interesting to note that according to American Express merchant guidelines and agreements, retailers can not specify a minimum amount for credit or debit card charges.

The jury is in, open-loop (Visa, MasterCard, Amex) gift cards are simply a raw deal. Stay away from them.